Colonel Patrick Donahoe recently articulated the importance of the main battle tank in future conflicts. History has shown tanks are a valuable tool in the application of combined arms warfare, and commanders will continue to exploit the capabilities of the armored force, where appropriate, to counter the armored formations of our adversaries. The tank, however, is an inanimate object, incapable of understanding terrain and maneuvering to a position of relative advantage unless under the control of a highly trained and technically capable crew. Additionally, the direction of company, battalion, and brigade commanders and staffs proficient in the art of armored warfare expand its usefulness from one tank to dozens. Unfortunately, changes in force structure have diluted the expertise of our armored forces, which will necessarily affect performance on the battlefield.

Folks in Redmond will have the opportunity to celebrate their patriotism in a unique way this Fourth of July: having their photos taken in the commander’s turret of an M60A3 tank, the kind used in the Korean War and other international conflicts from 1960 to the 1990s. (obviously, the article is in error regarding the Korean war and the M60 – Tank and AFV News editor)

The 62-ton tank is set to arrive at Redmond’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4108 on Thursday afternoon and will be placed at the post for permanent display, which the group hopes will draw attention to its organization and honor Korean War veterans. It is being driven from an Air Force base in Washington, and the group expects it to roll in between 10 a.m. and noon.

The Portuguese Army is to further upgrade its Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks (MBTs) with the aim of improving the vehicle’s communication and battle management capabilities, the army’s Logistics Command (CmdLog) told IHS Jane´s . The 37 vehicles fielded by the service’s Mechanised Brigade (Brigada Mecanizada; BrigMec) will receive the EID ICC-251 software-defined compact digital intercommunication system to replace Thales SOTAS system, with a contract potentially signed this year. The intercom designed to provide voice and data communications among crew members was tested on the MBT in January 2012, EID told IHS Jane’s .

In possibly the most bizarre election stunt so far, Senator Glenn Lazarus has used an army tank, two sledgehammers and some pavers to destroy a car.

In a scene fit for a demolition derby, the independent Queensland senator tanked the five-seater Dodge Journey to draw attention to his proposal to introduce “lemon laws” to protect Australians from dud imports.

The senator and former rugby league star known as the “Brick with Eyes”, shattered the windscreen with the sledgehammer, which turned out to be a lemon itself and broke on the first hit.